A long-term Finnish sports influencer Erkki Alaja is gone.
71-year-old Alaja died suddenly yesterday, Thursday. His spouse Tuuli Merikoski told about it on Twitter.
A sports counselor and former football and handball player at the major league level was the driving force of the Finnish sports field for many years.
Among other things, Alaja worked in the Finnish men’s football league as CEO of HJK and chairman of AC Alliance. He was also known athletes such as Arto Bryggaren, Raitanen’s top, Mikael Forssell and Laura Lepistön in the background as a manager, in addition to which he worked as a pioneer in the field of Finnish sports marketing.
Alaja helped several Finnish athletes. Riikka Lehtonen, one of Finland’s all-time volleyball players, was also very close to Alaja. Lehtonen heard about Alaja’s passing in a telephone interview with Urheilu.
– Erkki actually came into my life when I had already finished my volleyball career. Currently working at the Olympic Committee Jaana Tulla brought us together. He came along with my beach volleyball career, says Lehtonen very moved.
– Jaana and Erkki were present when I made the difficult decision to end my career. He has always been there for me and I could always ask him anything. He was always kind-hearted, wonderfully positive and encouraging, he describes the long-term sports influencer.
According to Lehtonen, Alaja’s value to Finnish sports has been exceptionally great: he would still have had a lot to give to the industry, even though he had already given a huge amount.
– All the knowledge and experience he had was something he also shared very fluently. He also took sides until the end, if he had chosen to do so somewhere. He always thought big about all people, on a big scale.
– Right now, I feel the most bad for Tuuli and Erki’s other loved ones. I’m pretty speechless. I want to wish a lot of strength to everyone close to Erki.
A passionate sportsman, even in difficult places
The head coach of the Finnish under-16 boys’ national football team and a long career as a major league football player in HJK Erkka V. Lehtola also remembers Alaja fondly.
In his career, Lehtola played for, among others, HJK, where Alaja was the CEO, and AC Allians, where the sports influencer was the chairman. Lehtola describes Alaja as a passionate sportsman, “the chairman of the players”.
– He was a warm person and I think he created such a spirit in the club and also in the team in that role. It helped me manage on the field.
– He was an interpreter of emotions and verbally a really skillful word user. He has definitely been involved in many things, but I personally appreciate his loyalty to the community. He went to Kiffen’s games for decades. He was one of the great figures of the Ballpark.
Alaja worked in the background teams of many athletes, such as Mikael Forssell. Lehtola highly appreciates Alaja’s contribution to Forssel’s career.
– When “Miklu” went out into the world at a very young age, he was very much in the background and organizing things, and supported the entire Forssell family. I have a definite feeling that he was not only a sports manager and actually helped, but an important person anyway to those who were in his stable.
Forssell says that he got to know Alaja already at the age of 12 in the soccer team he founded in Sopa (Sosiaalipalloilijat).
– Everyone is welcome there, regardless of background or skills. Eki’s support and security throughout my football career and life has been invaluable to me, and this sadness and void is huge after his passing, says Forssell.
– He was one of the kindest and warmest people. He was always present and gave his time to everyone. Everyone knew Eki and everyone knew Eki. Our expertise in marketing and sponsorship brought us together when I moved to Chelsea at the age of 17. After a very short time we became best friends.
Alaja made a deep impression
Sports influencer Maija Innanen met Alaja for the first time decades ago. He called Alaja especially in his working life, but even after his career, the calls have been long.
– Erkki is one of those who have made a deep impression. He was basically a good person somehow. He strove for goodness in all his actions and always saw the good in people. Of course, he had opinions in the other direction as well.
According to Innanen, Alaja was interested in people, but also in phenomena, and especially in cooperation.
– He didn’t think about whether the person was a minister or an ordinary tramp doing voluntary work. Everyone was very equal to him. He was an egalitarian in the true sense of the word.
– Gender equality has also been important to me, especially in sports, where it didn’t really exist for decades. He never separated people by gender.
Innanen misses Alaja from the bottom of her heart, especially as a person.
– He had a big heart, and he also did very important things. However, people are mainly remembered for what kind of person they were. You can’t think anything but good things about Erki. Hopefully, in the new world, he will have the opportunity to meet his brother, who was very dear to him, and his mother, who, as I recall, he hospiced about a year ago.
Who still remembers the time when athletes were given brown envelopes in sports? At least sports advisor Erkki Alaja, who did a great job with Finnish sports. In 2017, Erkki Alaja was a guest on morning TV.
Significant literary output
Alaja left behind a significant and versatile literary production, from personal histories to histories of various institutions and sports broadcasting houses. The last published work was the history of the Olympic stadium, which appeared in 2020.
– In a certain way, the title of his autobiography, “The Invitation”, describes him. He never put himself in the front row, even though he was executive director and involved in many projects where he was a key person and achiever. All in all, an incredibly fine person who played a big part in sports, a sports influencer Risto Nieminen remembers.
– His personality was the most important. He was exceptionally warm and big-hearted and had a great sense of humor. Whether it was, for example, Olympiakomita’s offices, ball fields or Töölö tori’s cafe, people gathered around. There was a happy and friendly spirit, where people encouraged and commented on the world and sports events.
Alaja’s autobiography is also a history of Finnish sports management. Alaja was a pioneer of the profession in Finland.
– You can probably say that Erkki is the father of Finnish sports management. He has trained several generations to do it. A couple of generations of athletes know him as a compassionate and competent manager.
In honor of Helsinki Day, Erkki Alaja planned a walking tour of the city’s sports venues, when Helsinki’s sports services turned 100 years old and in honor of that, the city chose 100 legendary athletes. Erkki Alaja told about the topic in 2019.
Raitanen: “Hearty, helpful and thoughtful”
Alaja also managed last summer’s steeplechase European champion for years Top from Raita. Their cooperation started in 2015.
– “Eki” took me under its wings and created opportunities for me to be able to play sports as a profession, Raitanen tells Urheilu.
A year ago, the runner started to take care of his cooperation matters himself, but even after this, Alaja helped.
– “Eki” was very cordial, helpful and thoughtful. He always wanted to teach that it is better to exceed expectations than to fall short of them, Raitanen describes.
The duo’s collaboration was easy. Even though Alaja was an authority, he was also very close to people. Raitase has strongly remembered how genuinely Alaja met and treated people.
– He wanted to work for my future career even when it was worse. He didn’t just pat himself on the back when things went well, Raitanen says.
Alaja always had something to give when the two met. Usually he wanted to civilize with his gift.
– Many times they were books, Erkki liked them, Raitanen reveals.
Raitanen also knows that the experienced sportsman worked extensively in sports for decades.
– Memories always remain. He has been involved in so many that many people remember him and will always remember him.